Tenkara Line Building

by John Vetterli

This is the 57th order I have built for a customer. I feel honored each time I receive an order to build a line for someone. I strive to make each line a work of art and engineering that hopefully will make your fishing more enjoyable.

One of the first things you notice about my lines is that they are kind of spendy.

My lines are not cheap because of the cost of raw materials. I spent a lot of time using over a dozen different fluorocarbon line materials until I found the best fluorocarbon for making tapered, twisted tenkara lines. The custom lines I build today are the result of over 40 prototypes. I continue to refine my lines and test new materials regularly.

Each and every line I send out is built by me and no one but me. I do not mass produce anything. I build your line for you. I have no warehouse, no stockpile of prebuilt lines. I make them one at a time at the time they are ordered.

One thing that is very unique about my lines is that I can tune the line to a specific rod. No other line maker in the world does this.

Line order #57 is built specifically for a Nissin 450ZX Medium Stiff keiryu rod.

I tuned this line by varying how tight individual segments are twisted together, the weight of each segment, the overall mass of the line in relation to the flex of the rod, and the degree of taper. All these factors dictate how much kinetic energy the line will deliver on the cast, how much energy the rod has to generate to propel the line, and the feel that you get from the combination of casting the rod and line. They function as a complete system. My goal is to get the maximum amount of power out of the rod to propel the line. Make the rod work hard for you instead of you working hard for the rod.

When you order one of my tuned lines the line length is an approximation. Line lengths will vary 1-2 feet plus or minus the length ordered. This is done to get the maximum performance out of the rod and the line.

Efficiency and performance are more important than an exact line length. These lines are not a one size fits all product.

Are my lines for everyone?

Simple answer is no. Not everyone will like how these lines cast. They are very high performance pieces of gear. They are expensive, they do not work well for every rod on the market. Rods designed for level lines get overpowered by my lines. They are heavy in comparison and level line rods are not engineered to work with that much line mass.

When you contact me about a line I ask about what rod or rods you want to use with the line, the types of fishing conditions you fish in, and what type of performance you are expecting from the lines.

I have recommended to several potential customers based on these factors that they use level lines because my lines may be counter productive to what they are trying to achieve.

Bottom line is when you commission a line from me, I build a line just for you. It is labor intensive and highly detail oriented process. You get a product designed, built and tested by a craftsman instead of something mass produced, marketed, and sold by a retailer. I do not advertise my lines I do not market my lines, every order that comes in is from word of mouth. I feel that if I push to sell my lines then I will eventually lose that little bit of my soul that goes into each line I make. That would suck.

I truly care about every line I build because it is a reflection of the care and detail of the man who builds it. Me, John Vetterli.